


aftermath

by watsoninwakanda



Category: Andi Mack (TV), Andi Mack - Fandom
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, Tyrus - Freeform, cyrus being a mom, cyrus comforts tj, cyrus is smitten with kippen, tj actually shows emotions, tj loves cyrus, whilr he cries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 18:46:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16959498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watsoninwakanda/pseuds/watsoninwakanda
Summary: (written before episode 7/ takes place in a universe where episode 7 never happens)TJ Kippen has trouble showing emotions. In fact, he doesn’t even know how to feel them. But when he believes that Cyrus never wants to see him again, an abundance of emotions hits him at once, and he doesn’t know how to handle it.orAfter the incident with the gun, Cyrus fears that he has ruined his relationship with TJ. however, TJ’s feelings have exploded in on himself and Cyrus is the only one who can help.





	aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> this takes place immediately after episode six!
> 
> you can also find this on [tumblr](https://bambikippen.tumblr.com/post/180607469948/tyrus-one-shot-post-cookie-monster)  
> 

Cyrus stood outside of the principal’s office, sorting through all of the emotions that had flooded through him in the past hour. He had felt bad about telling on T.J. and his friends, but took pride in the fact that he was doing the right thing. When he saw the police officer, his heart had dropped. Cyrus has never gotten in trouble before, and he had worried that there had been a miscommunication of some sort. Fortunately for him, the officer just wanted to hear his story, so she could compare it to the others’. 

Now as he was standing alone, he felt upset, but couldn’t pinpoint why. He wasn’t mad about the gun anymore, he knew he was right to report it. He was more upset with the fact that T.J. had known about it. He thought he had changed him, but now he had to deal with the disappointment surrounding his friend’s mistake. Cyrus couldn’t stand around forever, though, he had already missed all of first period, and the majority of second, so he started to head down the hallway.

On the way, he bumped into Buffy, bathroom-pass in hand.

“Hey Cy! How’d it go?”

“Fine,” answered Cyrus; he was still conflicted about the whole situation.

“Well you did the right thing,” she patted him on the shoulder, “don’t worry.”

“Oh, I know that Buf, but now T.J. is going to hate me.”

Buffy sighed, she was still a little wary about the whole T.J. not being an awful person thing, but she knew how much he meant to Cyrus. “Look, he knows you, Cyrus. If he’s as good a person as you say he is, he’ll understand. Ok?”

Cyrus nodded, “Yeah, thanks. Hey, does the girls team have practice today?”

Buffy grinned, “Yep! Will you be there?”

“Of course!.” He paused for a moment, “It’s just- just the girls today though, right?”

Buffy looked confused for a second, but then grinned. “Yep, just us. Don’t want to see T.J. today? I totally get you.”

“Yeah…” muttered Cyrus, confused with his own emotions. “Anyway, I should get to class. Have fun in the bathroom.”

Buffy smirked, “Dude, never say that again. But okay, see ya!”

After school was over, Cyrus headed to the gym. Buffy waved him over as he headed in.

“Hey, we’re just about to get started! You can sit in your usual spot,” she chimed.

Cyrus smiled and headed over to what he called “The Bench for Sports Enthusiasts Who Hated Sports,” also known as his seat on the bleachers.

Halfway through the practice, the girls came over to the bleachers to take a water break. Cyrus was staring ahead as someone sat down next to him. Assuming it was Buffy, he looked up and opened his mouth to speak. Instead, he was met with an angry pair of eyes that belonged to a light-haired girl.

“Um, may I help you?” he asked, confusion plastered all over his face.

The girl’s expression somehow got even angrier. “You’re the guy who got my brother arrested yesterday. F*** you.”

Cyrus gaped, “Um, I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong person.”

The girl flipped her hair, “Nope. You were there yesterday. With the gun?”

Cyrus sighed. He knew the boys would get in some sort of trouble, but he didn’t think any of them would get arrested. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I spent all of last night at the police station with my family, but they’re keeping Reed detained until further notice. It’s your fault.”

A puzzled expression was drawn upon Cyrus’s face. “I’m sorry about your brother, but he’s the one who had a gun. It’s his fault. Also, I didn’t tell anyone about it until this morning. So you do have the wrong person.”

The girl’s eyes seemed to soften for a moment, but then lit up again with flames. “Well besides Reed’s friends, you were the only other person there. So you’re lying.”

“I’m telling you, I didn’t tell anyone until today,” argued Cyrus.

“Come on, I know it was you. No one else there is a baby like you are. I mean you can’t even handle seeing a gun?”

Cyrus was struck with hurt. “I didn’t tell yesterday. But you know what? I should have. Waiting until today was a mistake. Now I’m leaving, thanks for the chat. Not.”

Cyrus got up off the bleachers and walked out the back door. He could hear Buffy asking where he was going from across the gym, but he ignored her. He needed to be alone right now. Of course, the universe just couldn’t let that happen. As he walked into the break room, he was struck with the site of none other than T.J. Kippen.

At first, Cyrus felt angry, but that flame quickly died down. The site of his friend sparked something else within him. He realised that T.J. deserved an explanation as to why he fled yesterday. Maybe, just maybe, he could help T.J. understand why he was wrong. He walked closer to the table, and noticed a pack of cheese puffs sitting atop of it.

“Eating your feelings again?” he asked, a grin on face. His grin dissipated as T.J., ever so slowly, looked up.

“Don’t have much of an appetite,” muttered T.J., pushing the snack across the table to Cyrus.

Cyrus couldn’t help but let out a small gasp. T.J.’s face was covered in tear tracks, and his eyes were swollen and red. He had obviously been crying.

Cyrus was shocked. As far as he knew, T.J. had two modes: confident, and less confident. Tears? Not something that he associated with the boy. Seeing this vulnerable side of him made Cyrus’s stomach twist in knots. His heart ached at T.J.’s sadness, and he didn’t even know what he was upset about.

Suddenly, he came to the realisation that his friend was in need of comfort. He frantically hurried over to T.J. and leant in for hug. He pulled away just as quickly though, because he remembered how angry T.J. could get when he felt exposed.

To Cyrus’s surprise, T.J. stopped him before he could pull all the way back.

“Please,” he said in a broken voice that just about split Cyrus’s heart, “I-I need it.”

With that, he leaned into Cyrus’s grasp, and the smaller boy held him tightly.

After a few minutes, T.J. pulled back, fresh tears dripping down his cheeks. “Thanks for that, Cy, especially after,” he paused for a moment to gather his words, “the- you know- the gun thing.”

Cyrus sighed and looked into T.J.’s eyes, “It’s okay, really. Now, do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

T.J. wanted nothing more than to do that, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak the words. “I can’t.”

Cyrus knew that his friend was in a tough situation, so he kept a calm demeanour. “And why’s that?”

T.J.’s breath hitched as a small sob erupted from his throat. Embarrassed, he covered his mouth with both hands and gazed down at the table.

Cyrus didn’t want his friend to feel confounded around him. So he slowly lifted his arms, and wrapped his hands around T.J.’s wrists. He then brought both of their arms back down to rest on T.J.’s lap, giving his hand a squeeze of comfort. Patiently, he waited for the taller boy to continue.

Another moment of silence passed, but then T.J. managed to squeak out four heartbreaking words. “I don’t know how.”

Cyrus gave T.J.’s hand another squeeze, and caught his gaze again. “What don’t you know how to do?” He cooed.

T.J.’s face reddened. “Talk. About stuff like this. About my emotions. Feelings.”

“Well that’s okay,” replied Cyrus. “I’m a pro at it, so I’ll teach you.”

T.J. glanced at him before flickering his eyes back to the table. For just a moment, Cyrus could see a tiny smile form across his lips.

“How about,” continued the brunet, “you start with something simple. Why are you upset?”

T.J. furrowed his brow for a moment, before deciding that he really did trust Cyrus. He turned to face him, and slowly but surely began his tale.

“I- I guess I’ll start with what happened yesterday. I lost all of my biking friends. But most importantly, I thought I had lost you.” He sniffed, but kept his gaze on Cyrus.

Cyrus’s face somehow managed to get even softer. “Why would you think that?”

“Because after you left, I called the- I called the police. On Reed. And then this morning, I saw you come out of the principal’s office, and thought that you’d gotten in trouble too. And it would’ve been my fault.”

Cyrus wanted to wrap his arms around the blonde again, but held his stance. He was shocked at what T.J. had said. “You? You’re the one who called the police yesterday?”

T.J. nodded, “You knew that someone did?”

“Yeah. Some girl on the basketball team- Reed’s sister, I think- yelled at me today. She thought it was my fault that her brother got arrested.”

Those words seemed to break T.J. even more. His face contorted as he groaned, and he dropped his head into his hands. Hesitantly, Cyrus put his hand on the small of T.J.’s back.

He listened as T.J. mumbled through his hands. “That’s the other thing, Cyrus. I’m so sorry. They all blame you. I tried to tell them it was me, but they thought I was just sticking up for you. Reed said that he’d- he’d kill you. I’m sure he was overreacting, but I told the officer about that too. I can’t bare the thought of you getting hurt because of me. I’m so sorry.”

As T.J. finished his ramble, he could feel more and more emotions piling up in his chest.

“Oh T.J., it’s ok. I’m not upset about it. I’m really proud of you for calling the police. You did the right thing.”

T.J. picked his head up again and stared ahead. “I’ve just been so worried that you’d never want to see my again. Which is understandable, considering I was friends with them but-” he sighed, “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there, Cyrus. I guess at first I didn’t realise how dangerous it could be. I mean, I didn’t tell Reed to bring it, but I didn’t tell him not to either. Seeing your face though- that look on your face when you saw the gun, I just-”

Cyrus placed a hand on T.J.’s shoulder, “It’s okay. T.J., really, it’s okay. Yes, I was upset at first, but the fact that you were the one to report the gun changes everything. I was angry because I really thought that you had changed, and I was worried that I had imagined that. But I had faith in you, T.J., I still do. And I’m glad I did.”

T.J. wiped his face and stood up next to the table, “I really don’t deserve you, Underdog. I’m an awful person compared to you; I don’t know why you hang around me, but I’m glad you do.”

Cyrus stood up as well and smiled as T.J. leaned in for another hug. They wrapped their arms around each other, and stayed that way for a while. Neither of them could keep track of the time.

Cyrus was the first to pull away, T.J. would have stayed like that forever if he could. He smiled as the smaller boy looked up at him, feeling emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“You’re not an awful person, T.J.,” muttered the brunet. “Don’t say things that aren’t true.”

He began to walk to the door, T.J. not far behind. “I should get back to Buffy, she’s probably wondering where I am. But I’m really happy that we’re cool again-” he paused, “we are cool, right?”

T.J. smiled, “We’re cool.”

As Cyrus turned around, T.J. stopped him. “Thanks again, Cyrus. I hope you’re not too weirded out.”

“Why would I be weirded out?”

“Well, I mean a dude crying into another guy’s arms isn’t the most manly thing in the world. In fact, it’s quite the opposite of that.”

Cyrus sighed, “Look, T.J., I know you have this whole cool-guy thing going on right now, but sometimes you just need to let yourself feel. Everyone cries, it’s okay. And who decides what gets to be manly? Is there some supreme man who makes up the manliness rules?” Cyrus answered his own question, “No, there’s not. So cry if you want to. Make it manly. You can be the epitome of a man and sob like a baby. Just don’t hold it all in, okay?” Cyrus sucked in a breath, worrying he had gone too far.

For a moment, T.J. looked like he was about to start crying again. He stood there, soaking in the words Cyrus had said, as his friend looked at him anxiously.

Finally, T.J. looked up with a smile on his face. “Thank you. Thank you, Cyrus. Thank you so much. You’re- I just, thank you.”

Cyrus beamed at his excitement. “And as for the hugging thing? Do that too! I hug Buffy and Andi all the time, it’s great! And it’s scientifically proven to make you happier!”

“Really?” T.J. chuckled at his friend’s enthusiasm. “How so?”

“It releases endorphins into your bloodstream, serotonin too. So yes, hug on the daily!”

T.J. grinned, forgetting every single thing that had upset him before, “Well, I’ll keep that in mind. I’m hiring you as my go-to endorphin releaser, okay?”

Cyrus smiled, “I’m more than happy to take that job.”

“Oh and one more thing,” exclaimed T.J. as Cyrus titled his head.

“Would you want to hang out this weekend? Just- just you and me?”

Cyrus smiled widely, “I’d love to.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! <3


End file.
